Screenwriter suing over 'Pirates'
LOS ANGELES, July 11 (UPI) -- Screenwriter Royce Matthew is suing a number of Hollywood companies over claims he was the creative force behind the first "Pirates of the Caribbean" film.
TMZ.com reported that Matthew's lawsuit, which names companies such as Touchstone Home Video and The Walt Disney Co., claims that a screenplay and accompanying drawings he created in the '80s and '90s influenced the creation of the "Pirates" trilogy.
In the lawsuit filed in federal court in Los Angeles, Matthew alleges that his creations were all registered with the U.S. Copyright Office prior to the release of the first film.
"Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl" has earned over $655 million worldwide to date.
Matthew is seeking unspecified damages in the lawsuit and is asking that all copies of the film be impounded by the suit's defendants, the Web site said.
While the recently released second film in the "Pirates" trilogy is not mentioned in the suit, Matthew has asked the presiding judge for an injunction against "other infringing works."
http://www.upi.com/NewsTrack/view.php?StoryID=20060711-071602-1268r
LOS ANGELES, July 11 (UPI) -- Screenwriter Royce Matthew is suing a number of Hollywood companies over claims he was the creative force behind the first "Pirates of the Caribbean" film.
TMZ.com reported that Matthew's lawsuit, which names companies such as Touchstone Home Video and The Walt Disney Co., claims that a screenplay and accompanying drawings he created in the '80s and '90s influenced the creation of the "Pirates" trilogy.
In the lawsuit filed in federal court in Los Angeles, Matthew alleges that his creations were all registered with the U.S. Copyright Office prior to the release of the first film.
"Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl" has earned over $655 million worldwide to date.
Matthew is seeking unspecified damages in the lawsuit and is asking that all copies of the film be impounded by the suit's defendants, the Web site said.
While the recently released second film in the "Pirates" trilogy is not mentioned in the suit, Matthew has asked the presiding judge for an injunction against "other infringing works."
http://www.upi.com/NewsTrack/view.php?StoryID=20060711-071602-1268r
